Apparatus for making laminated strips



March 28, 1944. U, C, HAREN ETAL 2,345,195

APPARATUS FOR MAKING LAMINATED STRIPS l Original Filed Nov. '7, 1940 sheets-Sheet 1 30 IV l' 4:9 v

March 28, 1944. U. C. HAREN mL. 2,345,195

APPARATUSl 4FOR MAKING LAMINATED STRIPS Original Filed NQv. '7, 1940 3 Sheets-Sheet 2' vMarch 28, 1944. U, c, HAREN'- ETIAL I2,345,195

APPARATUS FOR MAxfNdLAMINA'TD sTRI'Ps.,

:original F116@ Nov. 'A 194,9 ls sheets-sneet`3 Y v 35 ,6I/.9 pr 1L I 50- 2/4 f 1 l nl] I I/ 4' F L s :zo g 233 7 I ZW 305 204 "1 l :57 7^? 236 f 207 2 4 v,/4 3,/ A r 2 1/7 J6 82 w85' i7 '[80 e 66 g '//9, ,y /5 I 8j v I l Pfff/527:;

Patented Mar. 28, 1944 APPARATUS FOitMAKrNG LAMI' STRIPS Urban C. Haren, Akron, and John I. Sapi, Kent,

Ohio, assigner?. to The B.- F. Gdricli Gom# pany, New York, N. Y., ay corporation of New York original application 'November 7, ,1940, sensing. 364,664. l,Divided and this trainante Amst 1, 1942, serial Ne. 453,206

7 Claims.

This invention relatesto the art Yof making laminated strips of pliable material, and is especially useful in making laminated strips of rubber and fabric or other adhesive material having stepped-off imbricated ends with the4 ends of the laminations bias cut and the strips of uniform length. Such strips have use in the manufacture of pneumatic tires and other articles in the rubber industry.

This is a division of our application Serial No. 364,664, led November 7, 1940, entitled Appa; ratus for making laminated strips, on which U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,310,851 issued on Feba ruary 9, 1943.

Heretofore such strips have lbeen made by hand or by apparatus constructed according to the patent of Matthias No. 1,667,009 of April 24, 1928, and whereas cutting and assembling the strips by hand was a slow operation and the strips so produced exhibited considerable variation i'n' dimensions, the manufacture of the strips on the Matthias machine required a different machine for each ydifferent length of strip desired.

The present invention aims to overcome the difculties heretofore experienced and to improve the Matthias machine.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide for accurately forming laminated strips of different lengths on the same apparatus, to provide quick adjustability to different siz'e strips, to provide uniformity in the quality ef product, and to provide for facilitating the Operation.

These and other objects will appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus in its preferred form with the strip material passi-ng therethrough, parts of the strips and of the con veyor belts being broken away. Y

Fig. 2 is an end elevation ofthe same looking from the right side of Fig. 1, parts of the strips and parts of the apparatus being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view of a bearingthereof, taken on line 33` of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a detail face view of one of the lstrip guides, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1.v

Fig. 5 is a detail view of mechanism for clamp= ing an end of the stripl to a drum, takenonline 5 5 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away.

Fig. 6 is a detail cross-sectional view of the knife, taken on line 6---6` of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a detailview thereof, taken on line 'If-1 0f Fig. 6.

Fig".- 8 is a'. detail sectinal view taken on line 8--8 f Fie. 5.

Fig. 9 is l dtail Sectional View taken on line 9;! ef Figi 5.

Fig. 10 is a detail View of the knife driving clutch, vparts being broken away.

Fig. 11 isa 'sectienal view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 10, taken on line ll--II thereof, parts being breken away. y

Fig.- 12 is a sectional view of the clutch taken on line l2=|`2 et Fig. 10. I

Fig. 13 is adetail sectional view showing the shock-absorbing mechanism, taken on line I3--l 3 of Fig'. 2.-

Fig'. 14 is' a detail sectional view of the shock-absoibing I'riehan'is'm. taken on line Ul-I 4 of Fig. 2.

Figi. 15 is a diagrammatic plan view of the clutch and sheck-abserbe mechanism.

Fig. 16 is a diagrammatic drawing showing the gearing.

The invention generally comprises a plurality of rotatable platen drums with means for guiding the various stri-p materials te their faces and means for driving all di the drums at any desired surface speed, and a iiying cutter for cooperation Witheac'h drum to sever the strip passing therever' on the bias, together with means v for driving the Vflying' cutters at the same surface speeds as' the drums and for stopping and starting invement therein.` between lcutting operations in timed reia'tin to advance of the strips so as to cutditerentlengthsof strips With the same platens and cutters. Means is also provided for guiding the stx-ips and for holding free ends theref into' Contact with the platens.

Referring to the drawings, the rnumeral iii designates the' bed of the machine to which are secured vertical horizontally vspaced frame members i2 betWen-(which a plurality of drum-like platens I3, M', f5 are' adjustably mounted, on shafts I6, l1, |18, respectively, for rotation. Each shaft is' fixed to its drum and rotatablymounted in bearings adjustable toward and `from a neighboring as'snow'nin Fig. 3- whe-re the shaft la is rttail-y a baring Yi9 fixed t0 a pirate 2U Wh Sflid'alile vertically with relation to the plane i the dra ing' along ways 2i formed on vertical frame member li, screws Liz, 2a being provided-t adjust the platev along its Ways. The Shaft l 8 -djtbl vertically and Shafts i6 rid; l1 ife djllltabl hiji'izrrtally Similar manner. Strip material 30 is led over platen i3 Where it meets strip* inza.i'.`\.ri'al 3l led v over platen Il'. By' adus'tir'ier-'it f their bea-rings the platens i pass from the machine. Shafts I3, al1, |8vhave intermeshing gears 33, 34, 35 of the same size fixed thereto respectively, and the platens are the same; i

pitch diameter as the gears, sci ,thatrthe A platens: operate in unison. The arrangement is such that;` gear 35 meshes with and drives gear 34 which in turn meshes with and drivesgear 3.3,..

The mechanism for supportin'gthe cutters vis asl .Y

follows: A shaft i0 is rotatably mounted directly. above platen |4, and parallel thereto, in bearings 4|, 42 vertically adjustable on framemembersll, .l I2. A flying cutter support-43V ovfgskeletal form is .A adjustably xed to the shaft and supports oppor;

sitely disposed helical cutter blades 44, 45, adapted to be pressed against platen I4 to out the' stripv on' the bias. Clamp screws 45 provide means for clamping the cutters in any position circumferentially of the shaft. Avsirnilar iiyingcutter-support 41 is mounted on a shaft 48 directly; above platen I3 and a third cutter support 49` is similarly mounted on a shaft 50,b elow platen-Hand for cooperation with platen |,5mto cutthe strip 32. Shafts 40, 48 and 50 are `adapted tobe drivenat. the same speed and withI the cutters .they support traveling at the same surface .speed as the platens I3, I4, I5. For this purpose shafts 40and48have equal gears 55, 53 xedthereto respectively and meshing with eachother, ,and shaft 50 has a smilar gear 51 fixed thereto. A similar idlervgeai 5 8 rotatable about shaft I5 meshes with gears v5G and 51. By adjustment of the cutters about. their shafts, the respective cuts maybe made out of step resulting in stepped or imbricated ends in the assembledstrips. .A y l f Means is provided for driving the platens continuously at any desired speed corresponding to the speed of other mechanism` which suppliesthe strip material or utilizes-the; plied up cutdstri-phs4 For this purpose, a motor (notI shown) drivesthe driving shaft of a speed changing devicel60 of the Reeves type (see Fig. 2) through a multipi@ v-beit drive 6|, and the envenshaft 62 of the speed changing devicehas a pulley 63 fixed thereto which drives asimilar pulley |54 xed to.

a shaft 65 through belts 66,.,- Shaft 65 has .a pinion 01 fixed thereto within a housing 68 o ,f'a

geared speed reducer where it engages a gear 69- fixed to a shaft 10. Shaft 10 hasa pinion 1I fixed thereto which engages gear: 35, previouslyl described, and through gear-train 35, 34, 33I drives the platens continuously. An idlerv gear. 12`on shaft 50 also meshes with gears 33, and35 to reduce multiplied back-lash, all of ttljlegears 33, 34', 35 and 12 having the samenumberof teeth.

For driving the cutter supports atthe same surface speed as the platens,but intermittently,. a

horizontal shaft 15' (see Figs. 1o and 1e)V has a gear 10 rotatably mounted thereonover a spider 11 xed thereto (see Fig. 11 The gear l'1 0 has inwardly extending lugs 18 which extend between the legs of the spider and are cushioned therefrom circumferentially by coil springs 19. The springs permit limited circumferential-motion of the gear with respectV to the shaft andabsorb shocks. Gear 15 meshes--withgear 51,1xed to 'shaft 59 (see Figaland 2) Aand-drives the cutter supports through gear train 51,.58, -5.0. 5,5 pref viously described.Y A quill 8,0 ,is rotatably mounted Q11 ,Shaft iii-and has a gear 8l fixe-d .theretawhich 75e driving rollers 85 (see Fig. l2).

ls of equal size with gear 10 and meshes with the constantly driven gear 12 which drives the cutter supports (see Fig. 16) through gear train 12, 51, 58, 55, 55. The quill is formed to provide the female driving member 82 of a roller clutch. The

male member 83 thereof is fixed to the shaft 15 and has flats 84 formed thereon for clearing A cage ring 86 separates the rollers and holds them in properly jspacedpositions.-V An extension coil spring 81 has one end fixed to the cage ring 85 and the other end fixed-to clutch member 83 and normallyA holdsY `the cage ring into engaged or driving position. A detent finger S0 is fixed to a rock shaft 9| (see Figs. l, 15 and 16) in a position to v engage a shoulder 92 on cage 80 to hold the cage in non-engaging Aposition against the tension of spring 81. The arrangement is such that by rocking the rock shaft 9| the detent may be lifted clearl of the shoulder 92 whereupon the coil spring 81 will engage the clutch and shaft 15 will be driven, driving the cutter supports, at the same surface speed as the platens, and by return rocking movement of the rock shaft, the notch 92 will engage `the detent v and release the clutch, stopping rotation lof the cutter supports while the platens continue to rotate. ,i

For actuating the detent 90 and thereby initiating cutting of thestrips in timed relationwith their advance whereby length of the strips is controlled, a gear pinion |00 (see Figs. l and 16) is fixed to constantly driven shaft 10, previously described, and meshes with a gear 0| onv the driving shaft |02 of a variable speed control unit |03, of the Reeves type. The drivenshaft r|04 of the control unit |03 has alcarn|05 fixed thereto. A tappet |08 is pivotally mounted on rock shaft 9| in a pos-ition to engage cam |05. An arm |06@ is fixed to tappet |06 and a coil spring |061) acting against. arm Ia, urges the arm in adirection to release the detent 90 from the shoulder 92 of thefclutch cage 86. A compression coil spring |01 is mounted between detent 90 and tappet |06'and a bolt |01a passing through the spring limits movement of tappet |06 with respect to detent 90. The arrangement is such that when a notch |03 in the cam |05 arrives .opposite the point -of'contact with tappet |00 the tappet is deflected into the notch |03 by spring iiitb and the bolt |'01'a pulls detent99 from'under shoulder 92 causing the clutch 'to engage until a raised part of cam/|05 forces 'the'tappet away and the detentis forced [into engagement with the shoulder 92 'to disengage the clutch. By manipulatingv a hand wheel |I0 on` the Reeves speed changing unit which adjusts the speed ratio of shaftv |02 to shaft |04 to positions indicated by a pointer |II over astationary scale I2", thespee'd changing unit 0 3 may be set for cutting any desired length of strip.

For stopping rotation of shaft 15 which drives the cutters infa determinate'position with absorption of inertia, when clutch members 02, 83 ared-isengaged -a disc ||3 is fixed to the shaft 15 (see Figs; 2,13 and 15) An larm ||4 is rotatably mounted on the shaft adjacentthe disc. 4Arm I I4 has a lever I5 xed thereto (see Fig'.r 14) which rests against a-aplunger I5 fitted ina cylinder |,I1 xed to disc r| I3." Cylinder ||1 forms-part of an oil and spring check of which the cylinder forms the compression chamber and the casing I |8 provides an oilstorage chamber. AA. coil spring I9 in the cylinderho'lds. the plunger normally in its outerpositionand arm |I4 in 'its advanced position with relation to disc ||3. A valve'IrZJprovides a restricted passage from the cylinder t the casing ||8 and may be adjusted by a. screw |2| which adjusts the tension of a coil spring |22 which holds the valve against its seat. Return of oil through the plunger I I6 is provided for by a check valve |23 in the plunger. An arm |24 fixed to rock shaft 9| normally stands in the way of a projection |25 on the periphery of disc ||3 and also inthe way of the end of arm |I4. Arm II4 normally stands in advance of projection |25. As disc I I3 rotates, the arm |24 rst encounters arm ||4 which it moves, compressing spring I|9 and slowly forcing oil from cylinder ||1 through valve thereby absorbing the inertia and when projection encounters arm |24, the disc I I3 and shaft 15 to which it is fixed are positively stopped. Any rebound of the disc I3 is prevented by a pawl |26 pivoted on a stationary part of the machine and urged toward the periphery of the disc by a coil spring |21. A notch |28 in disc I I3 is opposite the pawl when the projection |25 reaches arm |24 and the pawl engages the notch preventing reverse movement of the disc. Further cushioning of disc I|3 is provided for by a strike plate hinged, as at |3| to the end of ar-m |24 and supported therefrom by a coil spring |32. A screw |33 passing through the spring and strike plate is provided to adjust the initial tension on the spring.

As arm |24 is fixed to the rock shaft 2| to which detent 98 is fixed, when the shaft 9| is rocked to release the clutch cage and engage the clutch to drive shaft 15 and the cutters at the same surface speed as the speed of the platens the arm |24 is moved from under the projection |25 permitting rotation of shaft 15 and therefore movement of the cutters until the arm is returned to its original position. K

For guiding strip material to the rotatable platens a guide plate |45, illustrated in Fig. 4, is adjustably mounted on a rod |4| extending from frame member I2, adjacent platen I3 and is fixed to the rod by clamp screws |42. The guide plate has marginal fixed fences, |43, |44 and a movable fence |45 secured thereto by clamp screws |46 passing throughelongated slots |41. Rods |48, |49 passing through the fences retain the strip material in place. The guide plate may be adjusted to present a strip of any width within its capacity at any position axially of the platen. A similar guide plate is mounted adjacent platen I4 and a similar guide plate |5| is mounted adjacent platen I5.

A swinging arm |52, pvoted at |53 to frame member I2, carries a roller |54 for pressing the strip 30 against platen I3. A similar roller |55 is pivotally mounted at |56 on frame member I2 to press strip 3| against platen I4. A third pressure roller |51 is mounted on a bell-crank |58, pivoted to the frame member I2 at |59 adjacent platen I5 to y.press the strip 32 thereagainst. A Weight |60 on the bell-crank acts to press this roll'upwardly. Guide rolls |65, |56 are rotatably mounted between frame members II, I2 to guide strip 32. A guide roll |61 is rotatably mounted between frame members I I, I2 to guide one end of a conveyor belt |68 which delivers strip 3| to the machine.

For delivering the laminated strip material from the machine a roller |10 (see Fig. 1) is fixed to a shaft |1| journaled in frame members II, I2 and supports one end of a conveyor belt |12. A gear |13 is fixed to shaft |1| and meshes with constantly driven gear 1| which drives the conveyor continuously.

` To provide for replacement of the cutting blades and to cushion them, the rotatable cutter supports are provided with removable cushion ing and blade tensioning means. These are alike on each cutter support and only one of them will be described. Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, the cutter support 43 is formed with a channel extending helically along its cutting face. A channel-shaped strip |8I of vulcanized cushion rubber is mounted in the groove, and a grooved strip |82 of soft metal is mounted in the groove of the rubber strip thereover. The metal strip extends at each end beyond the face of the cutter support and into a socket |33 formed in a bracket |84. Bracket |84 is pivotally mounted about a pin |55 fixed to the cutter support. A cotter pin passes through the end of the strip |82 and bracket |84 to form a pivcted connection. A tension screw |81 passes through an aperture in the bracket and is threaded through a plate |83 fixed to the cutter support. The arrangement is such that after the metal strip is secured to a bracket |84 at each end of the cutter support by cotter pins It, screws |81 may be adjusted to tension it longitudinally. The cutter blade- |55 is formed of tempered strip steel sharpened to V-shape at one longitudinal edge. Its opposite edge is fitted in the groove of strip |82. For securing its ends at each end of the cutter support a post IGI is pivot-ally mounted on pin |85 and extends through a clearance opening in bracket |84. A dove-tailed socket |52 `is formed in the top of the post to receive a loop |93 formed at the end of the blade. A filler block |94 of metal is inserted in the loop to prevent collapse thereof and a cotter pin |35 extends through the post above the loop to hold it radially of the cutter support. A tension screw Il'is threaded through plate ISS and extends through a clearance opening in the lower end of the post. A coil spring |91 encircles 'the screw IE5 between the post 4andthe head of' the screw. By tightening the screw 93, the coil spring |91 is compressed and the post |9| is moved about pivot |85 to tension the blade.

When the strip material is not sufficiently adhesive to insure adherence thereof to the platens, means may be provided to clamp the leading ends of the strips to the platens so that they are positively fed to the assembling positions. Each of the platens may be supplied with clamping means for this purpose but as all are alike, only one ofV them will be described as follows: Referring to Figs. 2, 5, 8 and 9, an annular locking ring 20|] having radially extending notches 25| in its exposed face is secured to one margin of the platen I4. An arm 252 (see Figs. 5 and 9) is rotatably mounted about shaft I1 to which platen I4 is fixed and extends radially of the shaft adjacent the locking ring. A dog 253 is pivotally mounted at 254 on the outer end of arm 2|2 (see Fig. 9). The dog is of bell-crank form and has a tail 2&5 extending axially away from the drum and a head 233 extending in the opposite direction for engaging the notches in the locking ring. A tension screw 251 extends through a clearance opening in the tail of the dog and is xed to arm 252. A compression coil spring encircles the screw and normally presses the dog into engagement with the locking ring so that arm 202 is normally rotated about shaft |1 by the drum |4.

The outer end of arm 252 is slotted axially of the drum. A pair of toggle levers 258, 209

(see Fig.. 5) are pivoted at their centers, as at 210, 211 to the arm 202 at one side of the slot and a similar pair are similarly pivoted at the other side of the slot. Their outer ends are pivoted at 212, 213 to a roller block 214 and their inners ends are pivoted at 215, 216 to a similar roller block 211. Block 214 has a cam roller 218 at its outer end and a clamping finger 219 at its inner end. Block 211 has a cam roller 220 on its outer end. A leaf spring 22| fixed to arm 202 engages the lower rounded ends of the toggle levers 208, 209 and is convexly bowed so as to retain them frictionally at either limit of their pivoted movement. The arrangement is such that when the block 214 is moved toward platen I4 its clamping finger 219 is moved over the strip 31 on the face of the drum and is clamped thereagainst by spring 221 and at the same time roller block 21'1 is moved away from the drum. When roller block 211 is moved toward the drum finger 219 is Withdrawn and the strip is released. Due to the toggle construction and the shape of the spring 221 contact with the most extended cam roller tending to cause movement of the roller toward the drum Will cause the position of the toggle mechanism to change by a snap movement. At a position where the strip material first contacts the platen a stationary cam 230 (see Figs. 2 and 9) is fixed to a frame member I I in the path of cam roller 218 and as the roller contacts therewith the roller is forced toward the platen causing the clamp finger to engage over the leading end of the strip. At any desired further position in the path of rotation, as where the leading end enters the bight of two platens and meets another strip a second fixed cam 231 (see Fig. 1) is mounted on the frame in a position to engage and deflect cam roller 220 to release the strip.

Stationary cam 230 previously mentioned is mounted on a block 232 (see Figs. 5, 8, and 9) in which a rock-shaft 233 is rotatably mounted on an axis radial to the axis of the platen 14. An arm 234 is fixed to the shaft and extends radially therefrom so that in one position shown in full lines in Fig. 9, it engages the passing tail 205 of the locking dog and releases the dog from the platen, stopping rotation of arm 202, and in a second position, shown in dot and dash lines, the arm clears the tail of the dog. A torsional coil spring 235 encircles the shaft 233 and has its ends fixed to the shaft 233 and the block 232 respectively. The arrangement is such that the arm 234 is normally held in the position to engage the tail of the dog as shown in Fig. 9.

YA roller arm 233 (see Figs. 5 and 8) is fixed to the shaft 233 and has a roller 231 mounted on its outer end. fA cam bar 238 is adjustably fixed to the cutter supporting shaft 40 (see Figs. 2 and 8) as by clamp screws 239, and has an outwardly turned end with an inclined cam surface 240. Where the cutter support has more than one cutter, as shown, a similar cam surface is provided for each cutter and, as illustrated, the cutter support has two opposite cutters and the cam bar has corresponding cams at opposite ends thereof. The cam surfaces are in the path of roller arm 236 when it is in the full line position of Fig. 3 and clear it in dot and dash line position and the arrangement is such that as a cam surface 240 passes the arm 236, arm 236 is deflected, turning shaft 233 and withdrawing arm 234 from the path of the tail 205 of .dog 203 and.

arm 202 stops rotating beyond this station with the drum. As the finger 219 also holds the arm 202 to the platen when it is clamping the strip to the drum the cam surface 230 is so located that the finger 219 is off the surface of the platen at the time that thedog y205 is released and arm 202 is thus stopped with the cam roller 218 just contacting with cam 230 and ready to engage the finger 219 over the face of the platen. Arm 238 is so set with relation to a cutter blade that as thecutter blade contacts the strip of material, the arm 238 releases the arm 234 permitting the dog 205 to engage the platen. This starts the arm 202 in motion and as the roller 218 passes the' cam 230 the finger 219 is engaged over the leading end of the strip where it remains until the roller 220 engagesvcam surface 231 andreleases the finger. The dog'203 still engages the platen however and the arm 202 therefor continues rotating throughout the remainingportion of the revolutions of the platen. When vthe next cut is to be made by approach of the cutter support the dog is again engaged. In the meantime the platen 14 may have rotated more than a single revolution depending upon the length of the strips to be cut, and the arm 202 remains in position to engage the leading end of the next strip to be cut due to the fact that the cutter support and cam surface 2130 are not in motion.

The operation of the clamping mechanism is as follows: As the drum 14 is constantly rotated, finger 219 is clamped over the leading end of the strip 31 at the cutting position over the surface of the drum by contact of roller 218 with stationary cam 230 and is released by contact of roller 220 with stationary cam 231 at the position where the leading end of the strip meets the surface of platen 15. This movement is independent of the cutter operation and takes place regularly at each revolution of drum 14. When finger 219 is withdrawn, arm 202 would stop rotating were it not for dog 206 which remains engaged with notch 201 throughout substantially a complete revolution of the drum until it is Withrawn by contact of the tail 205 with arm 234 at the cutting position as shown in Fig. 9. The arm 202 will stop at this position while the drum 14 continues to rotate unless roller 237 happens to be depressed to the dot and dash position of Fig. 8 by rotation of the cutter and its cam arm V231i at the moment the tail 205 reaches the i1- lustrated position, in which event the dog 203 would remain engaged with the notch 201 and the arm 22 would continue its revolution with drum 14 through another revolution. With the exception of the coincident arrival of the dog 203 at the position of Fig. 9 and the depression of arm 236 by passing of cam arm 238, the tail of the dog 203 is depressed by contact of arm 234 at the position of Fig. 9, as there shown, and arm 202 is stopped until cam arm 238 withdraws, in passing, arm 234 to the dot and dash position, whereupon the dos,r 203 engages anotch 201 of the constantly rotating drum and arm 202 is carried along with the drum. As the roller 219 passes the stationary cam 230 it is forced toward the drum and advances the nger 2i9 over the new Y leading end of the strip which it clamps until the dog 203 is released from the platen and the 7 5 released by contact of roller 220 with stationary cam 231.

Arms 250, 251 carrying' similar strip clamping mechanism are rotatably mounted on shafts 16 and 18 respectively adjacent platens l13 and 15 and operate in the same manner, and cam bars 252, 253, corresponding to cam bar 238 are adjustably mounted on shafts 48 and 5o respectively forv releasing and setting thelocking dogs to locking rings 254,255 of platens 'i3 and Vl5 respectively. The dog-releasing arms corresponding'fto arm-234 are shown at 256, 251, and stationary cams for releasing the clamping ngers are shown at 258, 259.

The operation of the specific mechanism will be apparent from the foregoing description. The general operation of the apparatus is as follows: Strip B is started through the guide itil and its end is placed over the platen i3, the roller E52 holding it in driven relation thereto and the guide I 40 being adjusted to deliver the strip in the desired alignment. Strip 3i is led through guide |50 and strip 32 is led through guide |51 which are also properly adjusted. Hand Wheel H is then adjusted to bring the pointer iii to the position on the scale H2 indicating the desired length of the laminated cut strips. The motor which drives the machine is then started and the strips are automatically cut to length assembled in laminated form and delivered over belt il?. Due to setting of the cutter holders on their shafts in stepped relation to each other, the ends of the plies of material are stepped off to assist in splicing them in annular form in the tire or other article. Where the material is adhesive, the laminated strips will come from the machine spliced end to end and may be separated when desired.

Due to the novel construction of the apparatus laminated strips of material of any desired length having stepped or imbricated ends may be automatically produced.

Variations may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as it is dened by the following claims.

We claim:

l. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair ci coacting presser rolls adapted to feed strips of material and to press them against each other in laminated relation at a nip of said rolls, and `to serve also as platen rolls for supporting the strips while they are being cut to length, and a rotary cutter for each said roll adapted to cut a strip thereagainst, the said cutters being geared so out of step with each other as to act upon respective strips passing about the presser rolls to the laminating nip of the latter at such longitudinal positions on the strips as to cause the end of one oi the strips to reach said nip before that of the other strip, means for intermittently driving said cutters at the same surface speed as that of said presser rolls during a cutting operation and causing them to dwell between cutting operations, and means for adjusting the length of the dwells to control the length of the laminated strips.

2. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of coacting presser rolls adapted to feed strips of material and to press them against each other in laminated relation at a nip cf said rolls, and to serve also as platen rolls for supporting the strips while they are being cut to length, and a rotary cutter for each said roll adapted to cut a strip thereagainst, the said cutters being geared so out of step with each other as to act upon respective strips passing about the presser rolls to the laminating nip of the latter at such longitudinal positions on the strips as to cause the end of one of the strips to reach said nip before that of the other strip; meansffordriving both-presser rolls and both rota'ryfcuttersat the same surface speed,

land means 'for interrupting the rotation of the rof the laminated units. 1 -3. Apparatus for 'cutting sheet material and 'making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of movable laminating platens for supporting sheet materials and advancing them into laminated relation at an assembling position at a nip of the platens, means for advancing said platens in unison, movable cutting means arranged at each platen for severing sheet material to length as it is supported and advanced by the platen, means for operating said cutting means in unison with each other, and means for adjustably interrupting the movement of said cutting means With relation to advance of said platens to regulate the length of material to be severed.

4. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of movable laminating platens for supporting sheet materials and advancing them into laminated relation at an assembling position at a nip of the platen, means for advancing the platens in unison, movable cutting means arranged at each platen for severing sheet material to length as it is supported and advanced by the platen, means for operating said cutting means in unison with each other, means for adjustably interrupting the movement of said cutting means with relation to advance of said platens to regulate the length of the material to besevered, and means for retaining the severed lengths on the platens, While they are delivered from the cutting positions to the assembling position.

5. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of rotatable laminating platens for supporting sheet'l materials and advancing them into laminated relation at an assembling position at a nip of the platens, means for rotating the platens in unison, movable cutting means arranged at each platen for severing sheet material to length as it is supported and advanced by the platen, means for operating said cutting means in unison with each other and means for adjustably interrupting the movement of said cutting means With relation to advance of said platens to regulate the length of material to be severed.

6. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of rotatable laminating platens for supporting sheet materials and advancing them into laminated relation at an assembling position at a nip of the platens, means for rotating the platens in unison, movable cutting means arranged at each platen for severing sheet material to length as it is supported and advanced by the platen. means for operating said cutting means in unison with each other, means for adjustably interrupting the movement of said cutting means With relation to advance of said platens to regulate the length of material to be severed, and means for retaining the severed lengths on the platens, between the cutting and assembling positions.

'7. Apparatus for cutting sheet material and making laminated units thereof, said apparatus comprising a pair of rotatable laminating platens for supporting sheet materials and advancing them into laminated relation at anrassemblng position at a nip of the platens,` means for-rotating the -platens in unison. rotatable cutting means arranged at each platen for severing sheet material to length as it is supported and advanced by the platen, means for rotating said cutting means inV unisonV with each other, and

means for adjustably interrupting rotation of.

thercuttlng means with relation to advance of said platens to regulate the length of material to be severed.

URBAN C. HAREN. JOHN P. SAPP. 

